"You’re not going to tell me that you, an old soldier, can’t even distinguish among a bunch of greenhorns who’s genuinely clever, who’s pretending to be clever, and who’s really smart but pretending otherwise, can you?"
After he finished speaking, everyone around looked at him with a gaze as if they had seen a ghost.
Seeing this, Yang Ge pretended to be bold and stroked a non-existent beard, saying, "Don’t look at this old man like that, I’m no demon. Believe it or not, when they’re at death’s door, they will still thank me for giving them the opportunity, and they’ll even think I’m quite a nice guy!"
With a peculiar expression, Yang Tiansheng teased, "Why don’t you just act like a human being, playing tricks on fools like this, don’t you feel a bit guilty?"
Yang Ge waved his hand: "Not at all, thank you!"
A group of people all shook their heads and tutted, thinking to themselves that this guy was not only tough with his hands but sharp with his mind too!
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No wonder he had just slapped the Emperor on the right cheek, and the Emperor turned his head and presented the left cheek.
With such a character, whoever provoked him was doomed to misfortune!
Zhou Fu also left with a strange expression, bowing before he continued to train that thousand servant soldiers. However, as he walked, the more he pondered, the less at ease he felt until, after much contemplation, a sudden insight flashed through his mind, and he exclaimed, "Damn..."
No sooner had the exclamation slipped out than he covered his mouth with his hand, swallowing back the rest of his thoughts, "This is clearly the Dragon-Slaying Skill!"
From what he had spoken yesterday about usurping from below, divide and rule, stockpiling grain and building walls, to today’s seemingly rough but increasingly practical and sharp military training and commanding tactics, which one of these wasn’t a Dragon-Slaying Skill?
If he used this set of tactics in Wei, both the Ming Sect and the White Lotus Sect would have to stand aside.
The so-called ancestral skills of Ming Sect and White Lotus Sect weren’t even worthy to carry his shoes!
Thinking of his popularity in Jiangzhe, where it shone like the sun at noon, if he were to raise a rebel flag there, he could probably gather an army of tens of thousands within three to five months without any natural disaster, and that too, an army where every man would bring his own provisions.
As Zhou Fu felt a chilling dread, he also felt it might not come to that, having been acquainted with Yang Erlang for more than a day or two. He was certain that the man, despite having the body of a bull demon, was indeed a peaceful one.
Only when it came to dealing with those Dongying brats did he wholeheartedly aim to eradicate them.
For others, even the corrupt officials from Jiangzhe, he only targeted those who had blood on their hands, and for anyone else he could spare, he did not strike down...
With this thought, he silently brought his hands together in prayer, beseeching the all-powerful heavens: ’May the Heavens bless us, and may Erlang not think of rebelling... I truly cannot bear it!’
Finally, he called over the pirate translator and, with a fierce expression, loudly said, "Announce that from this moment on, the rebel army will implement collective responsibility... ah no, the Baojia system. Any samurai whose subordinates have experienced deserters will be demoted in rank, with postponed promotions,"
The pirate translator faithfully conveyed his orders to the servant soldiers.
Instantly, a chorus of curses arose within the ranks, with the higher-ranking samurai cursing at the lower-ranking ones, who in turn cursed at their slaves.
After marching and halting like this for two days, the thousand servant soldiers finally began to look a bit like soldiers under Zhou Fu’s training.
Though not by much, there was still some improvement.
On the third day, just as the large troop entered the territory of Chikuzen, the rugged terrain gradually became more open, giving the feeling of moving from mountainous regions into the plains.
At noon, just as Yang Ge and the others were preparing to find a place near a water source to rest for a while, suddenly a scout came riding at full speed: "Report... Second Master, ten miles ahead there’s a valley, and we’ve spotted ambush troops on both sides of the valley. A rough initial estimate puts their numbers at no less than two thousand, with bows, crossbows, firearms, and seemingly plenty of traps."
The scouts were all skilled agents from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
In Wei, the Embroidered Uniform Guard originally focused more on inserting deep behind enemy lines, gathering military intelligence, turning enemy generals, and other such tasks. The seven Qi Sea-level Embroidered Uniform Guard experts that Shen Fa had handpicked were all elite troops promoted to the level of a hundred households based on their military achievements. Even in unfamiliar foreign lands, they were far superior to the best scouts in the army. Using them as scouts, probably no Embroidered Uniform Guard commander had ever fought so lavishly!
"Two thousand?"
Yang Ge instantly perked up, smiling broadly at Yang Tiansheng, Li Jincheng, and Xiang Wudi, saying, "The local rich families are quite hospitable, offering us such a heavy gift without even meeting us. How embarrassing!"
All three of them rolled their eyes in unison, too exhausted to comment on his twisted sense of humor.
Xiang Wudi pulled out the two halves of his polearm with a red tassel from his horse’s back and began assembling them methodically, asking, "What do we do, Second Brother? You call the shots!"
Without hesitation, Yang Ge replied, "What else can we do? Stick to the original plan."
Xiang Wudi paused in assembling his weapon and incredulously pointed to his own nose, "Just the few of us attack? A frontal charge against two thousand prepared men and an unknown number of more proficient enemy martial experts?"
He was so anxious, he was almost out of breath while speaking.
Yang Ge shook his head again: "Of course not!"
Xiang Wudi slightly relaxed, about to agree, only to hear Yang Ge continue, "This servant army has just taken shape and cannot do without people. The four of us will go."
Xiang Wudi’s eyelid twitched, and his mouth, which had just opened, closed again.